Chiangmai Christian Fellowship

Big Idea - God spoke through the prophets, and He has spoken through His Son in the last days. There is no other way to know God since He exists outside the universe. We can only know Him if He reveals Himself to us, and thankfully, He has always been revealing Himself. When Jesus was born to the virgin Mary, God was revealing Himself to us through Jesus. His coming into the world was the greatest...

Big Idea - How does Jesus see us? In this passage, we see Jesus evaluating the actions and motives of two different groups of people - the Scribes and those giving their offerings in the Temple. What the crowd and even the disciples see is very different from how Jesus sees what is happening. It is a powerful reminder that Jesus will judge the living and the dead one day! How will He see us? How w...

(1) King David’s Lord (2) Not I but Christ (3) Fake Religion

Big Idea - In this story, blind Bartimaeus cries in great desperation for Jesus to show him mercy. His cry is both urgent and persistent. It pays off, for Jesus does show him mercy by restoring his sight. Can we expect to encounter the same mercy when we ask God for help? Hebrews 4:16 makes an incredible promise that echoes the experience of Bartimaeus, "Let us then with confidence draw near to th...

Chiangmai Christian Fellowship

Big Idea - In the beginning of the Gospel Mark declares that Jesus came "proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:14–15). From chapter 1 to the end of chapter 8, the focus is on proving that Jesus is indeed the promised Messiah. The kingdom is at hand because the King has come! This is truly...

Big Idea - Is it possible that you can go to Jesus and ask for help, and He would turn you away without considering your request and granting what you ask? If we ask that question based on our own experience, we will probably say "yes." We may have turned to God many times in prayer, asking for His help, and feel that He never answered our prayers. But, if we base our answer on the life of Jesus i...

Jesus invites us through our hunger to trust Him for true satisfaction. Unpacking the Big Idea ● Why are we so hungry? ○ Our hunger is an invitation from Jesus to seek Him ● What is true satisfaction? ○ Satisfaction with Jesus for who He is and not just the benefits He gives us. - Jonathan Edwards ● How can we experience true satisfaction? ○ Trust Jesus with our hunger

Big Idea - We all want to make a difference in the world. We want to know that our life counts for something, not only to ourselves but to others as well. It feels good to know that we have made a positive difference in the world somehow. On June 6th, the world celebrated the 80th anniversary of D-Day, the turning point of WWII. The men who fought and even died at the Battle of Normandy are still...

Big Idea - In Rembrandt's painting of the storm on the sea, he paints himself in the boat with the 12 disciples and Jesus. He can identify with the experience of the disciples who are all struck with terror in the face of this fierce storm that is threatening their very lives. Like Rembrandt, it's not hard to paint ourselves in the picture, for life has its stormy days. Sometimes those storms are...

Big Idea - In English, we have an old saying, "more than meets the eye." It means that often, there is more to something than what we see at first. This is never more true than when it comes to the Gospel. On the surface, Jesus and the message of the cross does not look like much. In fact, the cross looks like defeat and utter failure. In the previous passage, we saw that the Kingdom is at hand, b...

Big Idea - Most of us have experienced the long line at immigration when we arrive in a foreign country by airplane. You cannot just walk into the country. There are entry requirements. Either you have to prove you are a citizen of that country by having the proper passport, or you have to obtain a visa that gives you permission to enter. The Kingdom of God also has its entry requirements. But, th...

Big Idea - Mark puts these two accounts together to show the important contrast or difference between the crowd who is seeking Jesus and flocking after Him and the twelve who Jesus calls. This passage raises several important questions that relate to our lives today. Why isn't it enough to seek Jesus? Or, put another way, why is my religious pursuit inadequate to reach God? What was the crowd miss...

Big Idea - Human beings are funny creatures. On the one hand, we don't like being told what to do. We don't like rules and regulations. On the other hand, we can't stop making rules. Our organizations and institutions are full of laws, regulations, and policies which are all made by people. Religion does not escape this problem. All religions are full of rules and laws. In the Old Testament, there...

Big Idea - One way to get an idea of what life is like for someone in a profession, or life situation is to follow them around for a day - A day in the life of . . . It gives us a picture of what their life is like, but it also tells us a great deal about what is important to them, what their priorities are, and what motivates them. What would the typical day in your life tell us about you? In Mar...

Absolute Authority 1. Authority to compel 2. Authority to teach 3. Authority over demons 4. Jesus is LORD!

Big Idea - Jesus appears on the scene in the Gospel of Mark at the Jordan River and is baptized by John, then He is immediately driven into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. When we compare Mark's account with Matthew and Luke, it is extremely brief - 16 verses in Matthew compared with 5 in Mark. The main reason for this is that Mark keeps a laser-sharp focus on Jesus and only reveals details...

Big Idea - We live in a city that knows how to prepare for a royal visitor. If you have lived here long, you know when preparations are being made for a royal visit - flags appear along the highway, roads are repaired, ribbons and banners are carefully hung, and police dressed in their best uniforms are stationed all along the route. The Gospel of Mark begins not with an account of Jesus' birth bu...

(1) Mary was poor, and young (2) Mary’s submission (3) A virgin conceives (4) Mary’s disgrace (5) Mary’s journey (6) Gifts and words that prophecy

Big Idea - If we grew up celebrating Christmas at home and at Church, we probably have a very clear image in our mind of what the birth of Jesus, captured in the nativity, is supposed to look like - baby Jesus in the manger, Mary and Joseph attending to Jesus, with the animals of the stable looking on. The shepherds are there with a few sheep, and the Magi are bringing their gifts, with their came...

Big Idea - We begin this advent season with a focus on the Prophetic Inauguration of Christ. The prophets all looked for the coming of a Messiah, and they all found their fulfillment in Jesus. Daniel is no exception. He also points to the coming of the Messiah and we see this most clearly in Daniel chapter 7 where Daniel speaks of the Son of Man. This was Jesus' favorite title for Himself. He was...

Big Idea - There is something in our nature that wants to know what will happen in the future. I think it is more than just simple curiosity. When the future is unknown it makes us feel helpless and out of control. Maybe we think that if we know what is coming, we can somehow control it, or at least not feel helpless about tomorrow. But, this would only work if we could know what will happen and t...

Big Idea - God created the world, and it was good. He created the Garden of Eden and put Adam and Eve in it as a place that was very good, the best! A place where they could experience all the goodness and joy of God walking daily in His presence. But, they rejected all of that and chose to go their own way. They chose the path of sin and rebellion against God. Now, all humanity is under the curse...

Big Idea - How can we be more effective in prayer? There are many examples in Scripture of how to pray. The prayer of Daniel is only one. But, it is a good model for prayer, and there is much we can imitate from Daniel. In the end, Gabriel told Daniel that he was "greatly loved" and precious to God. This was certainly God's response to Daniel's attitude and heart in prayer. What did Daniel pray th...

Big Idea - What is going to happen next? The world is in great turmoil, and we want to know how it is going to end. Will things get better, or will they get worse? For Daniel and the Israelites living in exile in Babylon, that was just as pressing a question. God had made covenant promises to Abraham that his descendants would be like the sand of the sea, they would possess the Promised Land, and...